Archimedes Texts

105
the Things necessary and useful to the Family.
The Family consists of the following Persons:
The Husband, the Wife, their Children and
Relations, and all the different Sorts of Ser
vants attendant upon these; besides which,
Guests too are to be reckoned as Part of the
Family. The Things usesul to the Family are
Provisions and all Manner of Necessaries, such
as Cloths, Arms, Books, and Horses also. The
principal Member of the whole Building, is
that which (whatever Names others may give
it) I shall call the Court-yard with its Portico;
next to this is the Parlour, within this the Bed
chambers, and lastly, the private Rooms for
the particular Uses of each Person in the Fa
mily. The other Members of the House are
sufficiently known by their Uses. The Court
yard therefore is the principal Member, to
which all the other smaller Members must cor
respond, as being in a Manner a publick Mar
ket-place to the whole House, which from this
Court-yard derives all the Advantages of Com
munication and Light. For this Reason every
one desires to have his Court-yard as spacious,
large, open, handsome and convenient as pos
sible. Some content themselves with one Court
yard, others are for having more, and for en
closing them all with very high Walls, or some
with higher and some with lower; and they
are for having them some covered and others
open, and others again half covered and half
uncovered; in some they would have a Portico
only on one Side, in others on two or more,
and in others all round; and these Porticoes,
lastly, some would build with flat, others with
arched Rooss. Upon these Heads I have no
thing more to say, but that Regard must be had
to the Climate and Season, and to Necessity
and Convenience; so as in cold Countries to
ward against the bleak North-wind, and the
Severity of the Air and Soil; and in hot Cli
mates, to avoid the troublesome and scorching
Rays of the Sun. Admit the pleasantest
Breezes on all Sides, and such a gratesul Quan
tity of Light as is necessary; but do not let
your Court-yard be exposed to any noxious
Vapours exhaled from any damp Place, nor to
frequent hasty Showers from some overlooking
Hill in the Neighbourhood. Exactly answer
ing the Middle of your Court-yard place your
Entrance, with a handsome Vestibule, neither
narrow, difficult or obscure. Let the first Room
that offers itself be a Chapel dedicated to God,
with its Altar, where Strangers and Guests may
offer their Devotions, beginning their Friend
ship by Religion; and where the Father of the
Family may put up his Prayers for the Peace
of his House and the Welfare of his Relations.
Here let him embrace those who come to visit
him, and if any Cause be referred to him by his
Friends, or he has any other serious Business
of that Nature to transact, let him do it in this
Place. Nothing is handsomer in the Middle
of the Portico, than Windows of Glass, through
which you may receive the Pleasure either of
Sun or Air, according to the Season. Martial
says, that Windows looking to the South, re
ceive a pure Sun and a clear Light; and the
Ancients thought it best to place their Porti
coes fronting the South, because the Sun in
Summer running his Course higher, did not
throw in his Rays, where they would enter in
Winter. The Prospect of Hills to the South,
when those Hills, on the Side which you have
a View of, are continually covered with Clouds
and Vapours, is not very pleasant, if they are
at a great Distance; and if they are near, and
in a Manner just over your Head, they will
incommode you with chill Shadows and cold
Rimes; but if they are at a convenient Dif
tance, they are both pleasant and convenient,
because they defend you from the southern
Winds. Hills towards the North reverberating
the Rays of the Sun, encrease the Heat; but at
a pretty good Distance, they are very delight
ful, because the Clearness of the Air, which is
always serene in such a Situation, and the
Brightness of the Sun, which it always enjoys,
is extremely chearful to the Sight. Hills to the
East and so likewise to the West, will make
your Mornings cold and the Dews plentisul,
if they are near you; but both, if at some toler
able Distance, are wonderfully Pleasant. So
too, Rivers and Lakes are inconvenient if too
near, and afford no Delight, if too far off:
Whereas, on the Contrary, the Sea, if it is at
a large Distance, makes both your Air and Sun
unhealthy; but when it is close to you, it does
you less Harm, because then you have always
an Equality in your Air. Indeed there is this
to be said, that when it is at a great Distance,
it encreases the Desire we have to see it. There
is a good Deal too in the Point to which we
lie open to it: For if you are exposed to the
Sea towards the South, it scorches you; if to
wards the East, it infests you with Damps; if
to the West, it makes your Air cloudy and full
of Vapours; and if to the North, it chills you
with excessive Cold. From the Court-yard
we proceed to the Parlours, which must be